Maggie Monday: Parmesan-Crusted Pork Chops

When I am making something special, I will buy a brick of parmesan cheese and grate my own fresh. But for general, every day cooking, I purchase the large green canister of grated parmesan from my local warehouse club. Therefore, recipes like the one below, are a regular staple in our house. Take a look at what Maggie has for us today…

This is a Giada De Laurentiis recipe. Some of her recipes are pretty complicated, but this one looked and sounded great. My family loves pork loin, even picky daughter devours it.

And center-cut chops were on sale, so it was on my list this weekend.

These were easy and quick to make. We had a birthday which means at least 10 people at the table, so I doubled the recipe. I cooked the chops in batches, and left them in the oven at 400 degrees.

The pork chops were amazing. The meat was tender and juicy, and the outside crispy and flavorful. The parmesan cheese and panko bread crumbs make a perfect crust. Everyone had seconds, and the girlfriends took leftovers home, so I’ll count this as a success. Thanks to Giada!

I happened to have about 10 pounds of home grown roma tomatoes to use, so I also made a pot of fresh marinara to top the chops. It was perfect! Any marinara will do, but fresh homemade really made this meal a celebration. Yum.

Parmesan-Crusted Pork Chops

What you need:

2 large eggs

1 cup dried Italian style panko bread crumbs

¾ cup grated parmesan cheese

4 ½ to ¾ thick center-cut pork loin chops

salt and pepper

6 Tbs olive oil

What you do:

Whisk eggs in a plate  to blend. Place bread crumbs in another pie plate. Place the cheese in a third pie plate. Sprinkle the pork chops generously with salt and pepper. Coat the chops completely with the cheese patting to adhere and cover. Dip the chops in to the eggs, then coat completely with the bread crumbs, patting to adhere.

Heat the olive oil in a very large skillet over medium heat. Add pork chops, in batches if necessary, and cook until golden brown and the center reaches 150 degrees. Transfer the chops to plates and serve with marinara or fresh lemon wedges.